In recent years, there has been a trend to automate banking functions as they relate to bank customers. An example of this trend is the Automatic Teller Machines (ATM's) which provide remote banking functions without the presence of a bank teller. One of these functions is the automatic issuance of passbooks and other types of multiple sheet or page documents. In issuing a passbook, data pertaining to the name of the owner, his account number, etc. is required to be printed on the cover of the passbook and on subsequent pages of the passbook. Mechanisms have been developed for automatically opening the cover and turning the pages of the passbook before printing is performed on the pages. The automatic page turning function makes it possible to automatically turn the pages of a passbook which is inserted into the banking mechanism or apparatus in the closed state or is stacked in the apparatus in the closed state until the desired page is located and appears for printing operation.
Representative documentation in the field of page turning mechanism includes Japanese Laid Open Patent Specification No. 79998/85 wherein a page turning roller is rotated while pressing a passbook against the roller by means of a pressing pad. When the page is partially turned up to a predetermined height, the pressing pad is lowered or driven downward so that pages other than the page desired to be turned are not brought into contact with the page turning roller. The partially turned up page is substantially maintained in the partially turned up state by reason that one end of the page is pressed against the page turning roller by the resilience of the page against its bend. In this partially turned up state, the page turning roller is further rotated to lift up the page onto the roller. The passbook is then moved or transported so as to pass under the roller to accomplish the page turning operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,036, issued to K. Fukatsu on July 21, 1981, discloses bank passbook printing apparatus in which friction rollers are pressed against the passbook when in an open position while clamp means rigidly holds the passbook in a position spaced from the roller, and retaining pins penetrate the uppermost leaf of the open passbook, which is partially lifted by the rotation of the friction rollers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,141, issued to M. Ito et al. on Oct. 8, 1985, discloses an automatic document page turning apparatus that holds one edge of a passbook at a station located along a guide chute and includes a drive member movable in a direction perpendicular to the guide chute for engaging and moving the passbook cover into a partially open position and control means to move the cover to a fully open position.
It has been found in prior construction that, due to the thickness and stiffness of the cover of the passbook, the cover cannot be turned and the passbook has to be inserted into the printing apparatus in an open condition by the clerk. This limitation, of course, prevents such a mechanism from being used in ATM's.